The Madurai police on Wednesday morning arrested M K Azhagiri, son of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M Karunanidhi, in connection with the murder of DMK leader and former state minister T Kiruttinan.
Azhagiri, who is estranged from his father and brother M K Stalin, was produced before a magistrate, who remanded him to judicial custody till June 4.
Azhagiri told the magistrate that he was 'innocent' and the charge against him was 'concocted and fallacious'.
The DMK leader, who was later taken to the Tiruchirappalli Central Prison, said his implication in the case 'is politically motivated and I have nothing to do with the murder of Kiruttinan'.
"I will face the false accusation in the court. I have neither any vengeance against anybody nor jealousy and what police say is false," he added.
Police sources said they had proof linking Azhagiri to the murder, which took place on Tuesday morning.
Identified with the faction led by DMK youth wing leader Stalin, Kiruttinan was the Sivaganga unit secretary. He was a candidate for the district secretary's post, for which elections were due on May 28th.
"Azhagiri is not the type to take a political adversity head-on, but choose his time to hit back, politically and electorally," one of his supporters said in Chennai.
He referred to the 2001 assembly election, when rebel candidates fielded by Azhagiri had led to the defeat of DMK nominees, including Kiruttinan.
"The leadership then had a patch-up with the Azhagiri faction in the southern districts," the supporter said.
Meanwhile, Azhagiri's arrest has added to the tension caused by the murder in Madurai, Sivaganga and the rest of southern Tamil Nadu.
With Stalin flying all the way from the United States to attend the funeral on Wednesday, the police is not taking any chances.
With inputs from Press Trust of India